This invention relates generally to electrical terminals and more specifically to pin grip terminals for use in connector bodies of thermoplastic or other suitable insulation material.
Pin grip terminals for mating with pin contacts have been used for many years. Such terminals generally comprise a base and a cantilever spring arm which extends back over the base so that the base and the cantilever spring arm engage opposite diametrical sides of a pin contact when it is inserted between them. When the pin contact terminals are to be housed and retained in a connector body, it is common practice to form a lock tang at the free end of the cantilever spring arm which cooperates with an internal shoulder of the connector body.
These known pin grip terminals have known drawbacks. The insertion force required to insert the pin grip terminal into the terminal cavity and the engagement force required to insert the pin contact into the pin grip terminal are generally higher than desired. This is generally due to the fact that the insertion and the engagement forces in these pin grip terminals are influenced by the shape of the lock tang and the fit of the lock tang in the terminal cavity of the connector body.